Desertion of Principle
by Verboten Byacolate
Summary: Maybe the coffee wasn't strong enough. Maybe she was in Miami when she was supposed to be in Vegas. Maybe it was all wrong. But it wasn't... bad. [VegasMiami crossover][Horatio.Catherine]


_A/N:_ I wonder if anyone else supports Horatio/Catherine? I could never see Horatio as... "cute" with anyone in Miami, but then I watched the pilot episode, and I thought he and Catherine were just so sweet!!  
Oh, and I categorized this as **CSI: Miami** because I'd think that most Miami fans would have also watched the original. Was I wrong to assume...?  
_Disclaimer:_ I disclaim all rights and claims to CSI and CSI: Miami.

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**Desertion of Principle**

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Her long blonde hair was styled a tad too uncreative to be Calleigh's, but all the same he knew he recognized her. What she was doing back in Miami was what perplexed him. Her back was to him and her head shook back and forth, hair shaking (and... _shining? _In this dim light?) to something the woman at the counter said, and she leaned over slightly as if to make a point by proximity. The corners of Horatio's lips quirked upward; it seemed like something she would do. She definitely seemed to be an assertive person... at least, when he'd seen her. 

Stepping closer to the counter in his line, he leaned forward to hear her voice.

"No, no-- one hot chocolate, and one decaffeinated latte. I don't care if it's ninety degrees outside, it's a good sixety in here and my daughter... You know what? Make it a _caffeinated_ latte. It seems I'll need it to have the energy to get through to you people." She gave a heavy sigh as the cashier stalked indignantly to the back, letting a "damn Floridians" slip past her glossy pink lips. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Catherine Willows has the patience for a daughter?"

Icy blue-green eyes were on him in a second and she started. "Horatio Caine...?"

"One and the same," he nodded. "I'm curious; if you hated it here so much, why did you come back?"

The woman glanced back to the uninhabited cash register in front of her before turning. "My daughter, Lindsey. She wanted to come."

"But to Miami? Aren't you thinking of the more child-oriented Orlando area?" he asked curiously. She gave a sort of half-smile.

"Like I said, Lindsey wanted to come."

Horatio nodded, and stepped up when the customer in front of him strode away with their daily stimulation.

"She must be very important to you for you to simply come to such a loathed place on her whims."

"Of course." She smiled, straightening immediately when the frazzled-looking cashier returned with two steaming cups. "Thanks," she said brusquely, tossing a few (precise, not to anyone's surprise) bills on the counter and striding away.

"One medium black," he said to his own cashier, watching Catherine's irked features contort into those of warmth as she neared her table. A little girl sat, playing with her pigtails, grinning up at her mother as she was handed a thermal cup. It was a beautiful picture. To view a family as happy as this, however small it may be, was always touching. His heart almost skipped a beat when the cold, calculating CSI agent looked back at him, tender face still set; it was almost as if...

"Here you are, sir, one black."

"Thank you," he said, taking the cup without looking. Catherine smiled and Lindsey peeked around, following her mother's line of vision. Horatio smiled at the girl and sipped at his brew.

_It's wrong_, he thought blandly, blinking when small hands beckoned him over. Catherine nodded at his speculating look, and his heart thumped as his feet crossed the polished wood floor.

"Hi, Mr. Caine," Lindsey said, grinning. "Mama told me a lot about you."

"Well, I've heard quite a bit about you as well," he replied, sliding in next to Catherine on the booth. "What do you like about Miami, Lindsey?"

The child chattered on while her mother watched her with happy, maternal eyes and an automatic smile that must have come with the child herself. He sipped again, nodding to Lindey's words. _It's wrong_, he thought once more. _But it's not bad. Not bad at all_.

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**When I watched Miami's pilot episode, I started fangirling over Horatio and Catherine. That honey scene, you know, when they kind of playful-bantered with the pet-names? -dies-  
My mother called me crazy. But I'm just a hopeless romantic. -.-u  
****-Bya**


End file.
